


Before They Crystallise

by rosequartz17



Series: A Tangle of Links [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Festivals, Magic robber yeo, No beta we die like wei wuxian, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Strangers to Friends(?), he just wants to eat, wooyoung is a sunshine boy who just wants friends, yeosang is not having it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28790922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosequartz17/pseuds/rosequartz17
Summary: Orphaned and alone for as long as he could remember, Yeosang has been using his extraordinary affinity with shadow and Lunar Magic to get through life constantly on the run.A chance encounter with a golden-eyed Magic Circle breaker flips his world upside down. Yeosang isn't impressed in the slightest.or: magic robber yeosang acquires annoying loudmouth travel companion who is absolutely hellbent on getting yeosang to call him his bestie
Relationships: Jung Wooyoung & Kang Yeosang, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: A Tangle of Links [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2110821
Comments: 13
Kudos: 16
Collections: The Server Made An Attempt





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi lmao this is me trying once again to kickstart my multifandom magic dimension au thats been on the works for a loooong while now. i havent properly written anything for close to 3 years so i apologise profusely if my writing isnt the best rn lmao ill try my best to improve as we go on! and im not gonna drop this work this time i promise!

**CHAPTER I**

**eat the rich**

The house just right ahead looks like the perfect target. It’s not too rich, not too poor. Not much in terms of security either. A quick scan around the property offers no hints of Magic Circles nor of the tell-tale glitter of Magions. The lights all around the house, even outside, are turned off. All in all, a really easy job to do.

From his position on the tree, Yeosang licks his lips. Tonight’s meal, and maybe tomorrow’s and the day after that meal as well, will be so, _so_ easy. 

He readies to drop himself from the tree when he spots movement from the corner of his eye. Yeosang holds his ground and turns his head to see what it was. The darkness of the night makes it a little difficult to see, but a little request to the moon for a bit more illumination reveals three figures hurrying towards the house.

Yeosang scowls. He expected there to be residents of this house given how _big_ and lavish it is, but he was hoping to be wrong. Oh well, nothing he can do now. He needs to feed himself and he isn’t letting three crusty upper-crusts get in his way.

Once the three have entered the house, Yeosang makes his move. His black cloak grants him additional cover in the darkness so he makes sure that it’s secured well around his neck as he crosses the front yard and rounds to the back of the house. For some reason, no one had turned on the lights when they entered the house. Not that Yeosang’s complaining. The darkness inside the house will make his job easier anyway.

The windows in the back click open easily. So easily that Yeosang has to hold back a laugh. Whoever is living in this house must be one confident motherfucker to leave their bloody _windows_ unlocked. Yeosang’s not even sorry for breaking and entering. Clearly, the owner doesn’t give a shit.

Yeosang is in the house in one smooth move. A quick glance around tells him he’s in some kind of drawing-room, thankfully empty. He strains his ears. Would the other three be around here? 

He hears no additional footsteps close to where he is. With that, Yeosang makes quick work around the room. On the coffee table are more papers, books, and the odd tiny toy or two. Underneath the table are more books, though thicker than their on-table counterparts. The room looks pretty lived-in, though the apparent irresponsibility of the owner is clear with all the clutter. 

There isn't anything valuable in plain sight, surprisingly. Except for maybe the candelabras and the plates on the wall. They look like they're made of solid gold and encrusted with actual sapphires. _Typical rich people_ , Yeosang rolls his eyes. _Showing off like there’s no tomorrow._

The candelabras and the plates go into his bottomless magic pouch anyway.

A quick run-through with the drawers in the room told Yeosang two things: 1.) The owner irrevocably does _not_ give a single fuck about security and 2.) The owner loves hoarding stuff. How else would they have random trinkets scattered everywhere? The drawers had varying amounts of spare papers and the occasional spare change or two. The coins’ quick acceptance of their new owner speaks a lot about how long they’ve been stuck inside. Yeosang’s only too happy to help them.

Once Yeosang made sure that the entire drawing-room was searched up and down, above and under, and every single thing of value was accounted for, he returned his pouch to its secure place on his hip. A quick scan of the hallway showed no signs of the other party, nor any kind of security really. The coast is clear then, Yeosang nods to himself.

Yeosang is about halfway through the hallway to the next door when faint noises start coming from behind him. He sighs as quietly as he could in his exasperation. An easy job, that's all he asks. _Is that asking for too much?_ He rants in his head. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.

Touching a fingertip to the darkened walls, Yeosang lets himself melt into the shadows. He gets a pretty decent view from where he's hiding. He stills, anticipation thrumming in his veins.

Judging by the rising volume of their voices, they're getting closer, and Yeosang's sure it's the same three from earlier.

_"Are you sure you heard something earlier?"_

_"Yes, I'm sure! I'm not deaf."_

_"Then why are we not seeing this supposed noise maker huh?!"_

_"Gee I don't know. Surely they mustn't have heard your loud ass mouth from the other side of the house and decided to hide? Oh dear, what a mystery."_

_"Shut up, kid, or you're not going with us next time."_

_"Ah no! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please let me tag along next time!"_

They’re a loud bunch, Yeosang notes, his mouth twitching in annoyance. He needs them out of his hair, and he needs to do it soon.

A flick of his wrist produces three dark, tiny spheres, their pinkish, pearlescent sheen telling of the sleeping spells imbued in them. Yeosang watches them orbit around each other in his palm. Each of them should be worth a few hours of deep, uninterrupted sleep. He takes one of the spheres in his other hand and waits.

The shadows appear before their owners do. The dark makes it hard to make out their appearance, but Yeosang really doesn’t care. They’ll be unconscious on the floor soon enough.

When their backs are fully in view, Yeosang lets the singular sphere fly, discreet in its lack of sound and light. He watches as it hits the back of who he assumes to be the tallest. However, instead of melting into the target, the sphere merely bounds back to Yeosang’s empty hand. Yeosang mutters a curse under his breath.

Of course, they’d have Anti-Magion clothing. Yeosang _really_ doesn’t have the time to trial and error just how Anti-Magion their clothing is, so he does the next best thing.

He reaches into his pouch, rummaging a bit until he finds what he’s looking for. 

_This should suffice,_ Yeosang twirls it around his hand for a moment, testing out its weight. He glances back to the three, seemingly unbothered and unaware of what was happening behind them. _Nice._

Still wrapped in shadows, Yeosang slowly approaches the three from behind. Once he closes their distance enough, he raises his frying pan in his hand and-

_CLANG!_

“H- Hey what-!!” One down.

_BONK!_

“Who the-?!” Two down.

_PANG!_

Yep, bingo. 

All three were out like a candle in a thunderstorm. Yeosang patted his frying pan as if he’s commending it for a good job. Once he’s done silently praising his frying pan, he stores it back to his pouch and proceeds to examine the unconscious bodies.

All of them are male and are dressed like they just came from a trip. Their heavy clothing looks perfect for protection against the elements. Their footwear were still dirty and they hadn't even removed their cloaks. 

Their cloaks… 

Yeosang stares. 

They look pretty comfy and are probably Anti-Magion if the events of earlier were any indication. Yeosang glances at his current cloak. It’s been with him for less than a moon or so, plucked from a random stall in a very busy night market some towns away. While it did give him additional cover in the dark and protection from the cold at night, it wasn’t the best.

He takes a look at the cloaks again. 

They all go into his pouch.

With their cloaks gone, Yeosang examines the bodies closer. There should be more that would prove useful to him.

A glow in the dark catches his eye.

On the belt of one of them is a medium-sized vial of lightly glowing stones. Yeosang recognises them as charged clear quartz. So these people are Mages then. The vial is still full and the clear quartz have no spells imbued in them at the moment.

Yeosang had run out of clear quartz days ago.

In conclusion, they belong in his pouch too.

Those were the only useful Magic items they have but Yeosang was able to snag a pouch of what he assumes are full of coins from each of them. He also got their bracelets and rings for shits and giggles.

He decides to take pity on the three fools and refrains from plucking anything else from them. However, he also has to make sure they won’t get in his way.

After some difficulty, Yeosang was able to stuff all three into a nearby broom closet. They have slightly awkward positions but that was the best he could do with his strength vs. 2 buff grown men and a teenager. Yeosang hopes they don’t suffocate in their sleep or something. He locks the door with a timed spell that should dissolve once he was far, far away from the house. 

That's another obstacle down, hopefully he won’t encounter more.

* * *

By the deities above, he hates this. He hates this so much.

Yeosang is supposed to be done. He has scoured all the rooms in all two floors, acquiring a lot of coins and various tableware coated in precious metals and gems, discovering the occasional stash of crystals, and basically relieving the owners of some of their… unwanted burdens (as he should). His meals for the next weeks- _moons_ even- were covered fully by everything he now has in his pouch. He had saved the master bedroom for last.

But of course, _of course_ he was going to run into another complication in this entire thing.

Complications are a normal part of life especially if one’s path in life is anything like Yeosang’s. Therefore this, and the thing with the three unconscious dudes downstairs, shouldn’t be something he’s frothing at the mouth for. _Daesung_ , he could just skip the master bedroom and leave. He already has everything he needs. But by the gods Yeosang had a really good feeling about the master bedroom and whatever he could find there. Of course he was going to go in and give it the same treatment as the other rooms in the house.

He now wants to punch the Yeosang of a few minutes ago square in the face.

Yeosang is in the shadows of the master bedroom. There’s a dark, pearlescent sphere in his hand. His gaze is pinned on the bed in the corner of the room.

The lump on the bed moves.

Yeosang’s hand twitches.

At first glance, there was nothing stopping him from knocking whoever was in the bed further into dreamland. Like the outside of the house, there were no telltale signs of Magic, Magic Circle or otherwise. No one would go as far as to get Anti-Magion bedsheets, unless they were super into maximum security. Judging from the state of the house, this particular person would definitely not get Anti-Magion bedsheets.

Yeosang blinks and he’s in the shadows of the wall where the headboard was at. From his new position, he gets a clearer look of the occupant of the bed. They were curled up in a ball and their messy hair was the only part of them that was visible outside their blanket cocoon. No signs of waking at all.

This is his chance.

He checks the sphere in his hands, lets orbit his palm once. Twice.

Yeosang readies the sphere, makes it float in front of his middle finger poised to flick.

He raises his head and—

—meets a pair of shining, golden eyes.

Yeosang manages to catch the startled sound in his throat and mentally curses himself for letting his guard down.

 _Rookie mistake,_ his inner voice hissed, _rookie mistake._

The eyes’ gaze is straight on him, but their owner doesn’t move. Yeosang stills, his breathing slow, and his eyes unblinking.

Did they notice him?

Their neck looks like it’s doing a lot to keep itself stable. Isn’t their current position uncomfortable?

Yeosang can’t tell. They aren’t moving. They aren’t blinking either.

A few beats of silence passes.

Yeosang shifts just a tad, readying himself for an escape while he still could. 

The eyes are still staring.

He should move first. Without taking his eyes off of his target, Yeosang readjusts the sphere in his hand and flicks.

The sphere flies, its trajectory straight towards the forehead of the other, and its speed quick enough that it shouldn’t be avoided. It should hit their skin directly, so the spell should work.

It hits its target, melting into their forehead and making ripples of the spell resonate throughout their body in pale white waves.

The spell took root, that much is clear. But the gold eyes were still wide awake, blinking away the sparkly remnants of the sphere. Yeosang blinks in confusion. How and why? He’s sure he had imbued a sleeping spell on the sphere, so _why weren’t they back asleep_?

“Who’s there?”

Oh. Oh _no_.

_Now_ they’re actually aware there was someone. Yeosang cursed inwardly. Today is not his lucky day. He should’ve left when he still could.

“I know you’re there. Can you please come out? I feel like I’m having sleep paralysis and this entire thing is getting creepier. Are you sure you’re not my sleep paralysis demon?”

Sleep paralysis?

Yeosang conjures an exact copy of the sphere he used earlier. There’s something a little off on the sheen, though there was a good chance it was from the lighting or lack thereof. Either Yeosang made a mistake with his spell in his haste, or there was another external factor that affected his spell. Whatever it was, it just cost Yeosang more of his time. What was this night even?

“Either I’m having a hyper-realistic sleep paralysis dream sequence or there’s someone in the shadows. Please just come out. I can’t move anyway, if that’s what you’re worried about.” The other one speaks up, breaking Yeosang’s train of thought. “Seriously, this entire situation is really, really creepy and it’s not good for my health. I need answers!”

This one is persistent _and_ confusing. Are they not worried about their own safety? They’ve commented on the apparent creepiness of their current predicament so surely they must feel even a tad worried for themselves. 

It’s Yeosang’s choice now. He knows what he’s going to do. They haven’t seen his face nor heard his voice. At worst they have the slightest sliver of his Magical signature.

He’s going to-

“Please? I can be your friend! I haven’t had a friend in _ages_.”

Okay, alright. Scratch that. Golden Eyes here definitely has zero sense of self-preservation. Who asks to become friends with someone they’re not even sure is real?

On the other hand, to offer friendship at the drop of a hat to something whose existence they can barely confirm, that’s actually pretty sad. Yeosang almost feels sad for them.

Yeosang’s gonna regret this, isn’t he?

He blinks and materialises out from the shadows on the foot of the bed, facing Golden Eyes directly. He squints his eyes in an effort to get a clearer view of the other person. The light of the moon through the windows could only offer so much light and Yeosang doesn’t want to request too much of it in one night.

Golden Eyes had uncurled themselves from their balled up position earlier, with their blanket cocoon untangled from their body and their head craned upwards still looking at the spot on the wall where Yeosang was in earlier.

“Okay I just sensed something at the foot of the bed. Can you readjust me to a more comfortable position? My neck hurts.” 

Yeosang finds himself complying to the request despite his better judgement. The position _does_ look like it’s uncomfortable at best and painful at worst, judging by the slightly popping veins on Golden Eyes’ neck. 

A wave of his hand has Golden Eyes sitting up in a more comfortable position against the headboard. Yeosang once more meets gazes with Golden Eyes, whose eyes are shining eerily in the dark and only a sliver of moonlight illuminating the bottom half of their owner’s face. Their mouth forms a grateful grin and Yeosang almost wants to step back from the sight that makes something weird bubble in the pit of his stomach.

“That’s better! Thank you,” The grin spreads wider. Yeosang wants to wipe it from their face or something.

“Why are you so relaxed about this?” The question is out of Yeosang’s mouth before he is able to stop it.

“You haven’t done anything to me besides freezing me like this and you were kind enough to reposition me when I asked you to, so I don’t think you’re here to hurt me.”

Golden Eyes sounds so naive and sure of their own words that Yeosang questions how they’ve managed to survive in Rich People World with zero sense of security and preservation. The gods have favourites and this one seems to be one of them. That’s just unfair now. But then again, life itself is unfair so who is Yeosang to complain?

Whatever, he’s just getting distracted from his initial task. Better end this quickly in case Golden Eyes manages to get a grasp of the magnitude of the situation and sic on him whatever security they have on them.

Yeosang schools his facial expression to something more intimidating. “I just knocked out your entire family so-”

Golden Eye’s face turns confused. “But… But I live alone?” 

Yeosang sputters in disbelief. He thinks back to the three knocked out people in the broom closet. “Then who were the people in your house?”

“There are people in the house?!” Oh wow, Yeosang never heard a voice go that shrill before. Impressive.

“What else would you expect from having virtually no security? You could’ve died!” Pray tell why was Yeosang worrying about a stranger? A sad lonely stranger, yes, but still a stranger he incapacitated _and_ currently robbing at that. 

_Your heart is softer than you think it is,_ A familiar voice whispers in his mind. Yeosang banishes it with a shake of his head.

“You’re welcome.” He mumbles under his breath, moving towards the drawers. He might as well finish what he came for while he still can.

Aware of Golden Eyes’ gaze still on him, Yeosang deploys a quick shield that should deter any basic spell. Once he is secure, Yeosang starts emptying the drawers of whatever valuables they hold. He’s just about to sink back to his usual routine of ‘pick up shiny expensive thing and stuff into pouch’ when Golden Eyes decides to speak up again.

“H- Hey, what are you doing?” 

Can’t a guy rob a place in peace? What is with tonight?

“Just relieving you of your surplus goods. You rich people really don’t have to have a copious amount of money to live comfortably. I bet you have 10 more houses filled with money so I don’t think I’ll be making that much of a dent in your pocket.” Yeosang feels incredible satisfaction when his words manage to silence Golden Eyes. Now, where was he?

“This isn’t my house though.”

Hold on. _What?_

“What do you mean this isn’t your-” Yeosang lets out a frustrated sigh and shakes his head. He needs to focus on his goal right now. “Whatever, you’re the least of my priorities right now.”

“I’m serious though!” And the shrill tone is back again, this time with a slight dash of petulant.

For some reason, Yeosang could _see_ in his mind’s eye the pout Golden Eyes would be donning right now. But he won’t be swayed. He’s going to empty these drawers and he’s going to move on with his life. This weird interaction would be nothing but a distant memory.

“I’m actually mooching off the owners of this house while they’re away! I even broke their Magic Circles myself!”

Ah, that would explain why security was nonexistent in this house. Yeosang would be inclined to believe them if it wasn’t for one glaringly obvious fact.

Yeosang stuffs the last of the expensive items in the drawers into his pouch and turns to face Golden Eyes again. The way Golden Eyes practically lit up when he did makes him just a tad bit creepier in the dark, but that’s not the important thing right now.

“Nice try, but we both know that Magic Circles can’t be broken all that easily. Especially ones that rich people get for their house security. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be leaving before the sun rises.”

Yeosang almost feels bad at how quick Golden Eyes’ expression fell. They’re so expressive and for what? 

“But I thought we could be friends.” Golden Eyes mumbles with a sad pout, gazing forlornly at Yeosang.

“I never said we could be, it was all you.” Yeosang opens the nearest window and prepares himself to jump out. 

“My spell will wear off when I’m far enough from this place, so don’t worry about that. There are three people knocked out cold in a broom closet on your first floor so you should take care of that. Good luck in your life or whatever. Thanks for the stuff. See you never.”

The last thing Yeosang hears before he’s well and far away from the house is Golden Eyes’ loud declaration of “I will find you and I will befriend you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that was a mess :D i hope yall enjoyed this somehow lol
> 
> the convo abt living alone is inspired by this [tiktok](https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSs3k2wN/) and it's probably the whole reason why this fic exists in the first place heh
> 
> im currently in the middle of setting up a tumblr blog that would explain my au's lore better bc i obviously have no life outside thinking too much abt a fictional setting filled with my favourite kpop idols. will update yall once it's done uwu
> 
> special thanks to my lovely talented precious team mom who helped kickstart my downward spiral into this au, and the atiny shipping server and my parabatai platonic soulmate light and love of my life better half for letting me constantly bombard them with screams about this fic and my au as a whole
> 
> THREE GUESSES WHO GOLDEN EYES IS OWO
> 
> watch me be a mess on [twt](https://twitter.com/kirakirajwy) if u want heheh


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeosang wanted chicken so he went to the nearest village.
> 
> Yeosang, however, did not want _this_.
> 
> Too bad Yeosang doesn't get everything he wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> took me a whole oneshot and a month but have 4k of babysitter yeosang and bits and pieces of worldbuilding, as a treat! i deeply apologise for the clapped moodboard

**CHAPTER II**

**came here to have a good time but im honestly feeling so attacked rn**

The sun is shining high in the sky, the birds are chirping, and Yeosang is one impulse barrier away from singing his joy at the highest of treetops. He has enough money that he can stop breaking into rich people's homes for a good long while _and_ he has thick, comfy cloaks to keep him warm at night. 

Despite the absolute weirdness that was his last heist, Yeosang thinks it was one of his most rewarding one so far. Rarely is he able to maximise his loot in a house as loaded as that one. Most rich people’s houses are lined to the brim with security Magic Circles, so it was only short of a miracle that the last house didn’t have any.

Huh, maybe he has Golden Eyes to thank for that.

Too bad they won’t cross paths anymore.

Since his heist, Yeosang has gone past 3 towns where he went on with his post-heist business. The candelabras, plates, and other golden and gem-encrusted knicknacks fetched at a very handsome price, to his happy surprise. Turns out they belong to some kind of rare collection that Yeosang doesn’t really care about remembering. Rare things make coins go klink in his pouch, that’s what’s important.

He actually had enough extra money to buy himself two more bottomless pouches for easier organisation of his things. 

Yeosang puts the last of the coins he was counting into their new pouch, closes it tight, and ties it securely back to his belt. He thinks about what he should do next as he gazes around his little camp. His stuff is organised, his food supply is taken care of, and his wards around the camp have gone through their usual morning maintenance. That leaves him with lots of free time for the rest of the day.

Two birds fly away from a nearby tree. Yeosang’s eyes follow them as they head towards where the treeline grows thinner and a belltower peeks out from the foliage. 

Mmm, he hasn’t had a good roast chicken in a while now, has he?

* * *

When Yeosang voluntarily ventured to the nearest town, he knew what he was signing up for. 

That doesn't mean he can't bitch about it all the way there. _Especially_ when he can literally hear the sound of celebrations growing louder and louder the closer Yeosang gets to his destination. It can only mean one thing. 

Dense crowds. 

Crowded places have always been the bane of Yeosang’s existence. Sure the hustle and bustle meant that he could pickpocket literally everyone easy peasy, no sweat. But that's the thing, there _is_ sweat. The air around crowds just isn't as fresh as an open field and it makes Yeosang sweat buckets, much to his disgust. The lack of space between everyone else makes his skin crawl. It means lesser mobility, a narrower field of vision, and limited escape routes. That is never the most ideal setting for someone like Yeosang. 

Yeosang prays to any deity he knows that he can quickly find what he needs and leave.

It’s easier said than done. 

The moment he stepped through the town gates, Yeosang was more or less absorbed into the celebrating crowd. He was pushed further and further into town and was stopped on multiple occasions by vendors who practically shoved their items in his face. He literally couldn't hear his own thoughts within the cacophony of everyone around him.

Out of spite, Yeosang took advantage of his predicament and snagged a few items from the crowd around him.

Yeosang regains his bearings in an alley some time later. He is not exactly sure of where he is now, but at least he’s out of the suffocating crowd. His next problem is how to look for a good chicken place despite the celebrations going on. 

Festivities like this are bound to make everyone with a business go all out with their products but Yeosang was picky. The chicken has to be _just right_ and he will not be able to do his usual chicken judgement if he's being pulled and pushed on all sides. He needs to think carefully about this. 

He cranes his neck, assessing the building in front of him. It’s tall enough to give him a good vantage point and small enough that it would be a quick climb. The roof is not too steep so Yeosang should be able to keep his footing once he’s up top. 

With that part solved, he checks the things on his person. Yeosang pats himself on the back for the foresight of wearing lighter clothing for the day and for bringing only one of his pouches. The less things to restrict his movement, the better.

When Yeosang reached the top of the building, he had to pause and stare for a bit. As much as he loathes crowded areas, he really cannot deny how beautiful the view is whenever celebrations anywhere rolled around.

The air seemed to have an endless rain of lily and rose petals and their scents mimicked the wonderful aroma signature of the Goddess of Magic's temples. The cacophony of the crowd had lessened, if only slightly, from Yeosang's position on the roof and he could now hear faint traces of music coming from the deeper parts of the town.

Colourful bunting with polecat decorations connected the streetlamps, overlooking the busy streets lined with various stalls selling different wares; crystals, tomes, staffs, and miscellaneous magic items from different parts of the continent. People attending are from all over, judging by the wide spectrum of dress styles and the various flags of different kingdoms waving from the carriages on the main street.

Polecats, lilies, roses… This must be this town’s Rite of Dawning. Yeosang remembers being told about the Rite of Dawning. A yearlong pilgrimage that occurs every decade with festivals set along the path of the Goddess of Magic Suzy when their world was still young and when she was still weaving Magic Grids to breathe Magic into everything.

So, it’s been 10 years since then.

The image of rough, calloused but gentle hands depositing a crystal figurine of a deer resting on a crescent moon of roses into smaller, smoother hands, and the sound of a warm and patient voice flashes in his mind. Yeosang banishes it with a huff. The past should _stay_ in the past and he should focus on the present. Focusing on the present means focusing on the chicken. Chicken is the goal.

Yeosang’s eyes scan among the stores and stalls, looking for the familiar scene of store and stall owners and their chicken dishes. Most of the stalls featured books and magic artefacts with the occasional snack stalls. The stores are souvenir shops, book shops, magic item shops, restaurants, everything practical. Unfortunately, none of the restaurants specialise in chicken.

Maybe he can find some closer to the town centre.

As Yeosang turns to head to his new destination, he fails to notice a very familiar pair of eyes gazing at him from the streets below.

* * *

The chicken shops truly were closer to the town centre, much to Yeosang’s delight. He could almost taste his lost childhood again in the bucket of fried chicken he had somehow managed to strong arm his way into getting.

This town knows how to make a good fried chicken. Super crunchy on the outside, super juicy on the inside. Besides being affordably priced, the shop owner also told him that their recipe also includes a pleasant little spell for good luck that lasts for as long as it takes for his body to digest the chicken. Yeosang makes note of the shop's name, Fowl-low Me (he doesn't know how to feel about that name, to be honest), and the town's name itself, Suncrest Grove, for future purposes. 

Honestly, the chicken was so good Yeosang went back to get another bucket with a preservation spell to take with him on the road. Besides, it won’t hurt to have a delicious source of luck now would it?

Yeosang got what he came for, which means it’s time for him to head back to camp before he gets swept up by another crowd or something. Should he travel through the roofs again? But his chicken… Yeosang looks down at the bucket in his hands. Maybe he should’ve asked the owner for a cover or something. He can’t climb with a bucket in his hands and he can’t put it in his pouch because it had no cover and he didn’t want to spill it. His gaze flickers to one of the less busy streets. Through the streets it is then.

The streets other than the main street were predictably still pretty busy though fortunately not as busy as the main street. Yeosang could walk through it with lesser chances of getting unwanted physical contact, especially if he walks near the centre and away from the groups of people looking at the stalls.

Yeosang takes his time walking down the street, peering at the stalls he passes by from time to time.

This street hosts the stalls selling smaller trinkets compared to the ones he saw in the main street with magical and nonmagical variants. He could spot pearls that seemingly captured the essence of the early, rosy dawn, native to the Rose Crown Seas, glittery gem-fruits of Diamantaire, necklaces of dragon scales from the Northern Draconic Plains, all little specialties of their respective homelands.

A particular stall caught his eye. It was selling a breed of Leirionite flowers endemic to Diamantaire’s Crystal Forests. Yeosang chews his chicken thoughtfully as he approaches the stall. From what he can recall, they’re capable of growing small crystals around the soil they are planted on. Yeosang recalls having an unused pot that should be perfect for this certain flower. It could save him from having to constantly hunt for places to replenish his crystal supply.

Just as he’s about to call over the stall owner, a _very_ familiar voice carries over to where Yeosang is standing.

“Are you sure this is the correct price? This wasn’t this expensive in Starbow Creek!”

_“But I thought we could be friends…” “I will find you and I will befriend you!”_

They’re _here_? _Now_? Yeosang stares at the chicken in his hand. This isn’t good luck at all. This is the farthest from good luck! He swore to everything he knew that he wouldn’t be meeting Golden Eyes ever again after that night, but it seems like all three of the Fate goddesses are against him today. He wants to disappear right here and now.

“Ah but sir this is the Rite of Dawning! We have to meet with the increase of demand if we want to make profit.”

Abandoning the Leirionite display, Yeosang turns to the source of the sounds.

Just a few stalls down, two to be precise, there stood a boy? Man? Dressed in basic adventurer gear in muted brown and reds. His black hair swayed with the frantic shaking of his head, the light reflecting off blonde highlighted strands making a sort of glittery effect.

He appears to be arguing with the stall owner over a box of translucent feathers. It’s kind of a ridiculous sight, to be honest. A seemingly grown man frantically waving his arms at a stall owner who seems to be _very close_ to breaking his neck.

Yeosang lets their conversation fade into the background. He’s more focused on studying the stall owner’s products. Taking another bite of his chicken, he takes note of the seemingly random mishmash of magical paraphernalia that look like they belong better in stalls of the main street. Each were rare and precious things only experienced adventurers would be able to get. The prices visible were, to Yeosang’s knowledge, outrageous.

While the products were indeed rare and precious, their quality was not something noteworthy for a price like that.

It’s either this stall owner is new and therefore couldn’t price their wares properly enough _or…_

Golden Eyes is being scammed.

Is he really that gullible?

Yeosang starts digging into a new drumstick. He sees Golden Eyes sigh in frustration and step back. Okay, he’s not giving into it. Good.

And then he starts to dig into his pouch.

Oh. Oh, nope he’s an idiot.

Yeosang may not like Golden Eyes but he also does not like seeing people get scammed out of their money.

Stealing does _not_ count as scamming; he’s merely relieving rich people of money they don’t even touch. _Scamming_ , meanwhile, that’s just cheating. People just want to buy stuff, no need to make them spend too much. Unless they’re the same type of rich people that Yeosang steals from, then it’s free real estate.

Back to the matter at hand.

Yeosang makes sure his bucket of chicken is safely tucked into his side before quickly marching over and practically _dragging_ away Golden Eyes before he could hand over the money, much to the surprise of both the latter and the stall owner.

“H- Hey- Who?!”

Yeosang could feel Golden Eyes try to escape his grip but he only held on tighter, pressing on until he could find another empty alleyway. He could also feel people stare at them and the loud protests of Golden Eyes, all of which he ignored, but surprisingly no one moved to separate them.

Once they’re settled in an empty alleyway, Yeosang pushes Golden Eyes until they’re facing one another. Golden Eyes’ eyes widen in what appears to be recognition when their gazes meet, but Yeosang doesn’t let him speak first.

“You _do_ realise that stall owner guy was playing you like a fiddle, right?”

Recognition morphed into indignance and slight shame. “O- Of course I do! I was just playing along…” Golden Eyes mumbles, crossing his arms and turning his head away with a pout.

“Sure you were. You were _so_ ready to drop more than a couple hundred Anthe for a box of severely diluted lesser Phoenix feathers.”

“I was testing him!” Golden Eyes protested, meeting gazes with Yeosang once more.

“Uh-huh.” Yeosang raises a disbelieving eyebrow and stares down at the other. He gets his drumstick from earlier and begins to dig into it again.

Golden Eyes blinks back at him.

Yeosang takes another bite. He’s chewing slowly and patiently.

A beat passes.

“Fine! Okay I didn’t know they were _that_ low quality!” Golden Eyes crosses his arms and turns away from Yeosang with a pout.

Dear Seven, where has this guy _been_?

“Seriously? Their colours screamed low quality!”

“Well, if you’re so knowledgeable why don’t you help me look for good quality ones?”

“And why would I do that?” Yeosang crosses his arms as well, mirroring Golden Eyes’ posture and meets his gaze almost like a challenge.

“I mean, you helped me back there when I wasn’t able to ask! Just shows that you’re a softie who’s willing to help.”

Yeosang’s eye twitches in slight irritation. This guy barely knew him and he’s out there calling him a _softie_. The _audacity._

“No, it was just painful seeing you waste good money like that. Anthe are really sensitive when it comes to careless spending, you know.” In fact, Yeosang is quite surprised none of the coins on his person have started to make a fuss the moment Golden Eyes began to seriously consider what was offered of him.

Golden Eyes’ gaze turns a bit hopeful. Yeosang has half a mind to just book it out of there. “So… Does that mean you’re gonna help me? Y’know… For the sake of the Anthe?”

There it is.

_For the sake of the Anthe_.

The deities are testing him today.

Goddamnit.

“… Fine.” Yeosang huffs out. “But I’ll need something in return.”

Golden Eyes brightens up as soon as those words left Yeosang’s mouth. Yeosang absently notices how the other’s eyes seemed to literally shimmer in excitement as Golden Eyes claps his hands and proposes exactly what he can give in exchange.

“Oh! I can teach you how to break Magic Circles.”

Yeosang admires Golden Eyes’ persistence, but it’s also getting kind of annoying. Golden Eyes is _not_ fooling anyone and yet he still persists.

“Why are you back on that again? I’ve told you before, those things don’t break easily. Especially not under just one person.”

Golden Eyes lets out a frustrated whine, “And _I’ve_ told you before that I can do it! I’ll prove it to you.”

Yeosang stares at him.

This guy is very hell bent with his solo Magic Circle breaking agenda. Yeosang would probably never hear the end of it should he keep on attempting to tell Golden Eyes that that was nigh impossible. He, namely Yeosang, deserves a break, thank you very much.

With a sigh, Yeosang decides to give him a chance. Just a smidgen of belief for his persistence. As a treat.

“Alright fine.”

“Really?!” There’s that literal lighting up on Golden Eyes’ face again. Just what was this guy on?

“I still don’t believe you can break Magic Circles singlehandedly but,” Yeosang vanishes his cleaned drumstick bone with a wave of his hand. “You’re so stubborn about it I’ll just give you the benefit of the doubt. Once I’m proven right, I’ll just laugh at your face and walk away.”

“Why are you so mean?”

* * *

So, this really wasn’t how Yeosang planned his day.

His chicken ran out quicker than it should have after Golden Eyes was somehow able to convince him to share.

Yeosang never shares his drumsticks ever, and for Golden Eyes to successfully make him do it was a feat. An impressive _and_ annoying feat but a feat nonetheless.

For the fifth? Sixth? Time that day, Yeosang was pulling Golden Eyes away from a stall owned by a scammer. What made it worse was how he kept falling for products that are so obviously low quality and even downright _pathetic imitations_ , Yeosang is starting do doubt if this guy had even seen a marketplace before today.

“Don’t buy that, it’s way past its expiration date.” “That thing could barely be considered a crystal, are you out of your mind?” “Dear Seven- Step away from that stall or I’ll kick you.” “ _Don’t_ even think about it.”

Babysitting. This is 100% unpaid and unwanted babysitting duties.

“Come on! It’s like nothing on this street impresses your oh-so-knowledgeable eyes.”

Yeosang rolls his eyes, “Because nothing _does_. This street’s stalls are all subpar products with ridiculous prices. No wonder this area is quieter than the rest of the town.”

The past few stalls they’ve looked at just proves Yeosang’s theory. This street is chock full of subpar merchants looking to scam clueless customers like Golden Eyes for easy money. Some stalls passed some low quality materials as high quality, while some stalls sang about how their products were more special than ordinary products, and all of them loved to overprice their goods.

“But the main street doesn’t have what I’m looking for though….” Golden Eyes mumbles with a pout.

Yeosang raises an eyebrow at him. “And what exactly are you looking for?”

“Uhh, stuff that’s able to store pure Solar Magic at high concentrations, maybe the essence of a spirit of an old active volcano…”

Yeosang blinks in disbelief. Is Golden Eyes not aware of how high calibre and rare those are? “ _Why_ do you even need those? Those aren’t things you can easily find in open air markets like these!”

“Look I don’t know! I get my usual supply from the houses I borrow…”

Borrowing a house. That’s… one way of saying ‘breaking and entering on the regular’.

_“This isn’t my house though.”_

_Huh_ , Yeosang thinks, _so he really_ was _telling the truth._

“So that house really wasn’t yours.”

“I told you! You just wouldn’t listen to me.” Golden Eyes sticks his tongue out at Yeosang. The seemingly childish move makes a tiny snicker escape from Yeosang’s mouth. For all the annoyance Golden Eyes brings, he _is_ pretty fun to poke fun at.

Too bad they’re gonna have to split ways. Permanently this time.

Yeosang straightens up his clothes and dusts off the dust that has accumulated from being dragged around the entire place all day.

“Since the stuff you need isn’t here, I’m gonna go now. Take care of yourself or whatever. Don’t get scammed.”

Golden Eyes’ face falls and Yeosang maybe, just maybe, feels a little guilty.

“Hey, wait c’mon, you’re leaving me again? After all we’ve been through today?” Golden Eyes looks pleadingly at Yeosang.

But hey, they’ve got completely different paths. Yeosang’s got his own plans, Golden Eyes has his. Yeosang’s plans definitely don’t involve wasting the rest of the day here.

“Listen, I have better things to do than pull you away from scammer stalls, okay? Now goodbye and see you never.”

Yeosang turns to the direction of his camp. Finally free.

“W- Wait!”

Or not.

Turning to face Golden Eyes, Yeosang lets out a frustrated sigh, “What now?”

“I wanna go with you!”

_What?_

You know what? Yeosang isn’t dealing with this. Not anymore. He just wants to go back to camp and nap. No more of… whatever this is.

“…Bye.”

“I’m serious!”

_Please, please just let me go for the love of all things divine._ Yeosang prays desperately. “Now why would I let you come with me? For all I know you could be waiting to rob me blind.”

Golden Eyes looks terribly offended at the suggestion, “Hey, I’m not that type of person! What if I just, y’know, wanna keep you company or something. You seem awfully lonely.”

_Not that type of person? My guy, you break into people’s homes for a living._ Yeosang wants to say. Instead, he responds with “I’ve been alone for a good chunk of my life. I’m pretty sure I’m used to it.”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t it be better to have someone with you? Keep you company, help you with stuff, be an extra pair of eyes on the road… I promise I won’t be a burden!” And the pleading puppy eyes are back on. Is Golden Eyes aware that those don’t work on Yeosang?

“Don’t you have anyone else to bother?”

“Nope!”

“And you’re not gonna let up until I say yes?”

“Exactly!”

Deities above, Yeosang wants to sock this guy in the face. Something holds him back from doing it and Yeosang wants to sock that force as well.

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Yeosang braces himself to decide on something he will probably come to regret. “… Fine. But the moment you prove to be a burden, I’m not hesitating from drop kicking you off a cliff.”

Golden Eyes beams widely.

Oh man, why is this guy’s smile _always_ literally blinding? Just what did he drink?

“I promise you won’t regret it!”

Yeosang merely turns and gestures for the other to follow him, “We’ll see.”

* * *

Yeosang learns that Golden Eyes’ name is Wooyoung. He also learns that Wooyoung is definitely more talkative now that he strong armed himself into becoming Yeosang’s travel companion.

“Your camp is pretty.”

“What’s so pretty about it? It’s just a camp.”

Yeosang is arranging the sleeping area to make room for Wooyoung, making sure there’s a generous amount of distance between Yeosang’s sleeping bag and Wooyoung’s area. Wooyoung, meanwhile, is making himself familiar with the area, looking around the campfire and poking at the extinguished embers like a curious little child.

“Still pretty.”

Yeosang sighs. Not even a few hours and Wooyoung is already making things noisier than what Yeosang is used to.

“Whatever.” He concedes, giving his sleeping bag one last pat before going over to the campfire, crouching beside Wooyoung and summoning over his firewood. “You’re by far the strangest Mage I’ve ever met.”

Wooyoung scoffs lightheartedly, “I’m not a Mage, silly.” He says, patting Yeosang on the head. He quickly retracts his hand away with a giggle, narrowly avoiding the swipe Yeosang made towards his arm.

“I am a Sunny Weather Spirit,” Climbing up on a small boulder, Wooyoung thumps his chest with a proud grin. Sunlight seemed to form a bright halo around his head. "We are brimming with happiness and it is our pleasure and honour to share it with others!" 

Yeosang slowly nods his head. Ah, Sunny Weather Spirit. That explains Wooyoung’s weird glowy stuff and his seemingly limitless energy. Still, Yeosang looks unimpressed and the expression holds even when the apparent weather spirit bounds over to squish Yeosang's cheeks.

“You deserve happiness, grumpy coin hoarder.”

For what seems to be the nth time this day, Yeosang rolls his eyes at his new companion.

“I deserve food, manic pixie banshee.”

This is definitely going to be the worst decision he’s made in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyways yep thats it i hope u liked this entire mess asgdfhjdksjhdfhdks 
> 
> ATZ CB SOON KINGDOM SOON IMITATION SOON MORE CONCEPT PHOTOS SOON YEEHAW
> 
> big thanks to the atz shipping server for putting up with my constant yelling abt this fic LOL come [join us!](https://discord.gg/qfwbY7w)! >:D 
> 
> watch me be a mess on [twt](https://twitter.com/kirakirajwy) if u want heheh


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